Rebuilding the '80 Wes Cooley

[russr33]

As to your fuel leaking around the sending unit hole:

I just fixed this exact problem on a 550L. I fought it for two or three tries and several trips to the dealer for gaskets ect.

Here is what worked,

Take the sending unit out and clean the hole very well with acetone.
Put a good carnuba wax on the 5 (?) bolts threads that hold the plate on.
Screw them in all the way
Lay the tank on a towel so that the hole is as level as you can get it.
Mix up a two part epoxy. I used alluminum powder because i had it around to thicken it. I thickened to the consistancy of a heavy nacho cheese.
Pour around the hole and plate so that the epoxy comes with in a milimeter or two of the hole in the tank.
Let sit overnight and harden.

What you will have is a perfect seal and the bolts will come out with no problem because the carnuba wax acts as a mold release.

Put the sending unit back in and be sure to use the rubber gasket. ride and enjoy!

This repair has held perfectly for the past two months. The bike has been ridden regularly and the hot/cold has not affected the repair in the least.

Jim

I'm a need of a little clarification Jimfj.

Do you mean screw the bolts all the way down into the tank or plate? If the plate then you want epoxy to cover the entire bottom of the plate (around the bolts?)

How wide of an epoxy ring around the hole should I use, an inch or so? I know you want it up to a millimeter or so from the hole itself.

[simon kuether]

That's odd. I am pretty sure I have an Eagle screen fitted to my 80 ST.
79, 80. Surely the same screen?

Yes,that's what I thought.Maybe I was talking to the "new" bloke there.I got frustrated enough with them to look elsewhere and ended up with old mate in Brisbane.Cheers,Simon.

[jimfj]

screw the bolts into the threaded holes. That way whe the epoxy is poured around them, it will harden perfectly around them and seal any leaks from underneath the plate holding the sending unit. The epoxy should come up to within a milimeter of the lipped hole in the tank.

The width of the band isn't so important, just slowly pour epoxy underneath the plate until it comes within a milimeter of the hole in the tank for the sending unit.

I wish I had taken a picture of the process. Just be sure to cover the bolt's threads with the wax so they won't stick when you unscrew to put the rubber gasket and sending unit plate back on.

Jim

[jwhelan65]

screw the bolts into the threaded holes. That way whe the epoxy is poured around them, it will harden perfectly around them and seal any leaks from underneath the plate holding the sending unit. The epoxy should come up to within a milimeter of the lipped hole in the tank.

The width of the band isn't so important, just slowly pour epoxy underneath the plate until it comes within a milimeter of the hole in the tank for the sending unit.

I wish I had taken a picture of the process. Just be sure to cover the bolt's threads with the wax so they won't stick when you unscrew to put the rubber gasket and sending unit plate back on.

Jim

Maybe you addressed this. What about the rubber seal? Did you replace it? Mine appears to be leaking from there...not sure though..

[nvr2old]

Where do you live? There is a place at Albion, Brisbane that does them called AC plastics

Thank you very much. I live in Washington state, USA. I appreciate your help and the others, too, also the links. That's gonna help the look of my bike a lot. This forum has been invaluable to my bike's progress. The chassis is all done, running and ready to go. The body work and paint, plus the seat are next. Should be done in about a month. I have some pics posted in an album under my profile.

[jimfj]

Maybe you addressed this. What about the rubber seal? Did you replace it? Mine appears to be leaking from there...not sure though..

I replaced the rubber seal first thinking that would take care of the leak. Mine had a couple of small tears in it. That did nothing but make me use a few choice words. The leak was coming from underneath the plate somehow. The hole's lip was not true from the PO trying to force the sending unit out, instead of taking his time.

Once you get this area sealed there really isn't anywhere else that the gas can come from. You are eleiminating all of the variables.
If you want to give me a call on this my number is 816-935-7671, please feel free.
Jim

[rputney01]

Simon, can you tell me where the smoked windscreen on your GS came from? I'm also building a '79 S model. I have the stock clear windscreen, but it's seen better days, and I would love to find a smoked replacement. Thanks.

Another option you might consider for the screen. I just got a smoked color one that is actually 4 inches taller than stock.

http://www.bikescreen.com/index.html

[nvr2old]

Another option you might consider for the screen. I just got a smoked color one that is actually 4 inches taller than stock.

http://www.bikescreen.com/index.html

I knew I came to the right place for help. Thanks. Nice S model, too, btw.

[Arkmage]

reviving this thread for a little more info on the tank repair.

You said it was in pretty bad shape and that you had it cleaned/repaired. Did you have this done locally? I'm working on a '80 1000S also in Houston and my tank has some paint bubbles and a lot of scale in it so it needs more than just POR 15. Did the repair shop also handle repainting it or did you have that done separate?

Thanks,
Noah.

[Rudeman]

No it was coming from underneath at the fuel sending unit so no problem. The paint is original and not bad but will be painted in the future. I was actually thinking of maybe going with the red scheme since you don't see any in the states. I think the U.S. only got the blue and white scheme but I'm not positive.

Good call on the lines. I'll check that out.

The US only got the Blue and White GS1000S. They were the Team Suzuki Roadrace colors at the time. BTW Wes Cooley never rode the GS1000S until after Suzuki built and released them to the general public. It was not a replica. It has been erroneously labeled as such because Kawasaki built the ELR KZ1000J. Uh...last time I looked Suzuki doesn't follow...they lead.

Nice job on the engine resto. Interested to see how the jetting goes I have a Wiseco 1085 in mine and it ran like sh!t with the individual air filters. I have a Stage One Yosh cam in mine so maybe that's the reason. I scored the plenum chamber from a stock air box to which I'm going to attach a single large K&N filter. Once I get it dialed in I'll go to work on the Keihin 33CR Specials. I have a twin cable throttle from a '79 GS850EN.

First things first though i have to replace the starter clutch, starter, rectifier, and clean up the wiring.

[russr33]

Picked up a NIB period Lockhart oil cooler and thermostat on ebay last week. Piece looks great and will try to get it installed here in the next week or so. The guy has a couple left so I will post up a review as soon as I do. Will post up some pics as soon as I can get photobucket to start working; for some reason it is not letting me copy the IMG code.....

[cowboyup3371]

Will post up some pics as soon as I can get photobucket to start working; for some reason it is not letting me copy the IMG code.....

Don't know if you knew this but they just changed their code. All you have do is left mouse click on the image code box and it will automatically copy it for you. Then paste it in here.

It took by surprise last week but I love it now.

[russr33]

Don't know if you knew this but they just changed their code. All you have do is left mouse click on the image code box and it will automatically copy it for you. Then paste it in here.

It took by surprise last week but I love it now.

Huh; must be my computer. I am at computer at work and had no problem.



Hopefully will look good on the S:

[srsupertrap]

Wow a brand new BP-180 thermostat I have the same set up with the Lockhart 700 oil cooler and I have found the oil line routing challenging. I think this set up has worked best for me . . . the BP-180 is behind the black foam directly aft of the Dyna Coils. Lots of zip ties but I can remove the valve cover although it's a tight fit.

Russ, Do you have RS34 on both 1000's ?

[russr33]

Wow a brand new BP-180 thermostat I have the same set up with the Lockhart 700 oil cooler and I have found the oil line routing challenging. I think this set up has worked best for me . . . the BP-180 is behind the black foam directly aft of the Dyna Coils. Lots of zip ties but I can remove the valve cover although it's a tight fit.

Russ, Do you have RS34 on both 1000's ?

'Trap I have 29 smoothies on the stock '78 motor and 34's on the 1085. Did you pull the trigger on a set of 34's or are you still contemplating?

BTW why don't you clean that bike of yours? Absolutely stunning. Is it always that clean or have you been busy lately?